Author: DTadmin

What is Azure? Microsoft Azure is an ever-expanding set of cloud services – currently over 600 – to help your organization meet your business challenges. Azure markets itself as a hybrid cloud solution with hundreds of ready-made tools for numerous aspects of a business. Developers can take full advantage of Azure, which offers Visual Studio integrations, flexible computing resources, and massive analytic capabilities. Researchers will find an abundance of uses for Azure services, too, as it provides access to super-computing performance that reduces the time needed to analyze large data sets. Most small businesses will not need the full breadth …

Email phishing scams are on the rise in the first quarter of 2018. With the rise of cybercriminal attempts to hack systems or harvest data using phishing emails, we wanted to cover the most basic steps a company or individual should take to protect themselves against these sophisticated scams. According to Phishing.org, “Phishing is a cybercrime in which a target or targets are contacted by email, telephone or text message by someone posing as a legitimate institution to lure individuals into providing sensitive data such as personally identifiable information, banking and credit card details, and passwords.” The concept is very …

The US Census found that, in 2010, 56.7 million – or 19 percent of the population – had a disability (US Census Bureau). That is a significant group that needs additional accommodations to use your business’ website in order to purchase your products or services. Making your website disability-friendly can expand your customer base and mitigate the possibility of expensive litigation. Website accessibility is a legitimate legal issue and the lack thereof could have consequences for businesses large and small. Eleventh Circuit Decision In a recent decision by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, websites must make the same accommodations for …

In previous posts, we’ve discussed the importance of patching Windows 10. These patches are designed to close security holes that hackers exploit in malware attacks. It is so important to update your Windows OS as soon as the opportunity becomes available; however, these patches can sometimes lead to upsetting issues. Over 50% of Windows 10 users have reported a wide array of issues with updates. This caused many to skip the updates until April of 2018 when Windows left users no other option. If you are among those that experienced issues with the update, then you may be happy to …

Microsoft Office is – and has been – the industry standard in business since it was first offered to Mac users in 1989 and PC users the following year. Word, PowerPoint, and Excel have long been the preferred software of business owners, despite Google’s attempt to take over with cloud offerings like Sheets, Docs, and Slides. All of these products mimic their Microsoft counterparts because when it comes to maximizing employee productivity and efficiency, those are the gold standard. Chances are that the last time you went to purchase Microsoft Office Professional you were offered Microsoft Office 365, and the …

In order to demonstrate private and public key encryption, it is best to have a cast of characters. Meet Alice, Eve, and Bob. Alice wants to send Bob some sensitive information. Eve has been trying to get this information from Alice. She has been watching her communications in anticipation. How can Alice send this information to Bob without Eve seeing the information? Let’s assume that Alice and Bob are not able to meet in-person, so physically handing off the information is not an option. Symmetrical Key Encryption If this were a physical box containing sensitive information, then Alice …

In our past posts, we’ve discussed the importance of educating your employees on proper cybersecurity protocols, but there is one aspect of user behavior that can be easily overlooked, yet is critically important: updating and installing patches. What is a patch? A patch is a piece of software that is designed to update a computer program or its supporting data. Patches can be updated manually or automatically. Patches are sometimes aimed at improving the user experience, adding new features, eliminating known bugs, or fixing known security vulnerabilities. The latter of these intentions is the main focus of this article. You …

I was perusing the web today and found an article on IT News entitled “How To Protect Chatbot Data And User Privacy” by Terena Bell. We are always focused on educating business owners and managers on securing their companies’ data and Equifax reminded us of the importance of security controls. Their massive data breach exposed 143 million Americans’ information and ultimately led to CEO Richard Smith’s resignation. You may have caught on from the title of this article that it is not about the security of these bots, but rather an overview of what the bots can offer and why you should seriously consider …

More and more small businesses are offering mobile devices to their employees as a means of increasing productivity and improving efficiency. It should not surprise you that these devices, and those belonging to the employees, pose a potential security risk to the network infrastructure. One survey found that 45% of businesses do not have a policy or plan to provide IT support for these devices. Businesses need to acknowledge the threat that mobile devices pose and take preemptive action to avoid the costly downtime, diverted resources, loss of data, and damage to the company’s public image that a malware attack …

Cloud security spending has been growing at an annual rate of 28% according to Forrester Research. By 2021, cloud security spending will be at $3.5 billion. Some of the biggest spenders are the financial and healthcare industries. The Forrester report states, “We expect most companies to look to commercial off the shelf solutions for their cloud security needs.” These off the shelf solutions are becoming more and more available as the cloud security market expands, but not all companies have made the move to secure the cloud. (Cloud security spending to hit $3.5bn by 2021, says Forrester By James Bourne). …